Crossing the line between rumor and fact

With the advent of smartphones and tablets, of Facebook and Twitter, some believe everyone these days is a journalist. There’s even been a phrase coined for this new development: “Citizen journalist.” That’s opposed to “professional journalism.”

Many professionals in the field, who have actually studied the craft and practiced it for years, have derided the trend. They point out that being able to instantly post a thought or a photo on the Internet is a far cry from journalism. Journalism requires facts to be verified. That’s what gives it credibility. Journalism is not conjecture or speculation or a wild leap of faith. Sometimes reporters and editors make mistakes, but journalism is supposed to be about reality — objective reality. The phrase “nothing but the facts, ma’am” comes to mind.

That dichotomy was on vivid display in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, and it touched the life of a Main Line family in a very real and painful way. The Tripathis of Radnor had been desperately searching since mid-March for their son, 22-year-old Brown University student Sunil Tripathi, a 2008 Radnor High School graduate who vanished in Providence, R.I.

After authorities released photos of the two young men they believed to be the bombers, speculation was rampant, especially online. That night, someone thought they heard Tripathi’s name mentioned on a Boston police scanner. From there the “story” was posted to an Internet site called Reddit with speculation that the missing man was, in fact, one of the men police were looking for.

Advertisement

Overnight, the rumor went viral. The family’s home was surrounded by news vans and the rumor was repeated as fact on local radio. All this happened without Tripathi’s name ever being confirmed by investigators or in any other way officially linked to the probe.

Radnor Police Superintendent William Colarulo began getting media phone calls at 4 a.m. “It’s unfortunate that people rush to judgment and that rumors run rampant,” he said. “The media also has to hold some accountability. They’re so worried about being first in reporting things they don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

He stationed a police detail at the family’s residence “because people from the media were knocking on their door,” he said.

Within a few hours, officials announced that the suspects had been identified as Chechen brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. But for the Tripathis, the damage had already been done. On their Facebook page called “Help us Find Sunil Tripathi,” they wrote:

“A tremendous and painful amount of attention has been cast on our beloved Sunil Tripathi in the past twelve hours.

“We have known unequivocally all along that neither individual suspected as responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings was Sunil.

“We are grateful to all of you who have followed us on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit — supporting us over the recent hours.

“Now more than ever our greatest strength comes from your enduring support. We thank all of you who have reached out to our family and ask that you continue to raise awareness and to help us find our gentle, loving, and thoughtful Sunil.”

Sadly, the family learned last week that a body found in the Providence River was their beloved son. They finally have an answer to the mystery, though it is not the one they had hoped for. May they somehow find peace in the midst of their grief.

For the rest of us, the episode will serve as a grim warning. In this age of instant communication, there’s a wide gap between “information” and “journalism.” It’s unfortunate that so many fell into that chasm.